John Storer papers concerning the Louisbourg campaign
Overview
Manuscript documents and letters relating to Colonel John Storer and his company of men who served in the Louisbourg Expedition to Cape Breton in 1744-1745.
Dates
- Creation: 1744-1747
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
Extent
.25 linear feet (1 box)Contains enlistment records for those serving in the company under John Storer in the Louisbourg Expedition, correspondence concerning the campaign with family and with military officers, printed notices and orders and returns concerning the Expedition, financial documents and accounts of the regiment, manuscript buildings plan of the fort, and other items.
Biographical / Historical
In 1744-1745, William Shirley, the governor of the colony of Massachusetts issued a call for volunteers in the surrounding British colonies to join an expedition to take the French Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. The expedition set sail from Boston in March 1745. The French forces at Louisbourg capitulated on June 16, 1745.
John Storer (1694-1768), from Wells, Maine was the son of Joseph Storer (1648-1730) and Hannah Hill (1664-1748). He had siblings: Sarah Storer Coburn (1682 - 1770); Hannah, Mary, Abigail, Joseph, John, Keziah, Ebenezer, and Seth. John was known as the "chief Indian fighter of the region, the owner of the local sawmills, and a pillar of the church." He was a captain, later a colonel, with a company of men (Third Company, First Regiment of Massachusetts Troops) during the Louisbourg Expedition. He married Elizabeth Hill (m.1722) and they had a number of children including: Colonel Joseph Storer (1725-1777, Harvard AB 1745); and Captain John Storer (1727-1764, Harvard AB 1745) a shipbuilder and trader, who held a captaincy in the local militia and was married to Mary Langdon. Neither sons John nor Joseph accompanied their father on the Louisbourg Expedition, rather they remained home in Wells. [Source: Clifford K. Shipton. Sibley's Harvard Graduates. Volume XI, 1741-1745. Massachusetts Historical Society: Boston, 1960, pp 580-582].
Sir William Pepperrell (1696-1759) was a justice of the peace and representative of Kittery, Maine in the Massachusetts General Court, a merchant and commander of the American forces on the Louisbourg Expedition.
Arrangement
Arranged into the following series:
- I. Correspondence
- II. Other documents concerning the expedition to Louisbourg
- III. Enlistment forms for John Storer's Company
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Gift of Ernest Lewis Gay; received: 1927 June 15.
Digitization Funding
Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
- Title
- Storer, John, 1694-1768. John Storer papers concerning the Louisbourg campaign, 1744-1747: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou01494
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
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